This invention generally relates to elevator systems. More particularly, this invention relates to determining how many more passengers can actually get on an elevator car and assigning cars based on this determination.
Modern elevator systems allow passengers to request elevator service in various ways. Some systems provide conventional hall call buttons that allow a passenger to indicate a desire to travel up or down from a particular landing. A car operating panel in an elevator car allows the passenger to indicate the floor to which the passenger desires to travel. Other systems include destination entry passenger interfaces that allow a passenger to indicate a desired destination before the passenger boards an elevator car. Such systems assign an elevator car to each passenger according to known car assignment algorithms.
Destination entry systems can improve elevator service for passengers by handling larger traffic volumes more efficiently and avoiding elevator lobby crowding, for example. One issue presented by such systems, however, is that the car assignments are made without any information regarding how many more passengers can actually get on the elevator car. Passengers assigned to a particular car may not be able to get on the assigned car or select not to board the assigned car since there is not enough room in the car even though the load inside the car is well within the capacity of the car. This not only causes wasteful stops but impairs the efficiency of the whole system.
A further issue is presented when the passengers comprise groups of passengers wishing to get on an elevator car together.
In view of the above and other considerations, there is a need for a method for controlling an elevator system which determines how many more passengers can actually get on an elevator car and assigns cars based on this determination.